Cultivation: Starting from a Mortal Bone

”Oh, it seems Master Qin might be tied up with other matters tonight and hasn’t arrived yet.”

A flicker of emotion flashed across Bai Yaoyin’s face. For some reason, looking at her incomparably charming elder sister, she actually found herself hoping that Qin Yu wouldn’t come over tonight.

What’s gotten into me?!

This is my own sister—how could I have such defensive thoughts?

Bai Yaoyin felt ashamed of her own inner feelings.

However, on second thought, maybe she wasn’t in the wrong.

Given Qin Yu’s temperament and interests, faced with such a peerlessly beautiful elder sister, could he possibly resist?!

”Little sister, could you tell me more about this Master Qin?”

Bai Yaosha didn’t pay it any mind, only thinking she must’ve imagined things.

If the bond between the sisters wasn’t good, she wouldn’t appear here at all.

Besides, she hadn’t done anything yet—hadn’t even met this so-called Master Qin.

As for...

Hmmm?

”Of course I can.”

Bai Yaoyin didn’t refuse. The moment Qin Yu was brought up, it was as if a dam had burst—she began to talk on and on without stop.

From their first meeting—Qin Yu’s extraordinary bearing, how he faced one distinguished guest after another, unflappable in honor or disgrace, always witty and eloquent...

Bai Yaoyin herself didn’t realize that, whenever she spoke of Qin Yu, that trace of pride in her tone was completely impossible to conceal.

Bai Yaosha sat quietly by the window, listening to her sister’s words, a tumult of feelings in her heart.

This silly little sister... seems she really likes that Master Qin.

And she’s actually still quite young.

What kind of charm does this Master Qin possess, to bridge even the gap in years?

Bai Yaosha was out of touch, knowing little about Qin Yu.

To her, for someone their father valued so highly—even referring to him as ”Master”—at least he must be some ancient-looking old man, nearing seventy if not already a thousand years old!

Although powerful cultivators show little trace of age, seeing her sister so infatuated still left her somewhat...

Creeped out.

This silly girl—there’s nothing wrong with her head, right?

How could she fall for some old man so much older than herself?

However, when she heard Bai Yaoyin mention that this Master Qin had repaired an ancient array in a single night, Bai Yaosha couldn’t help showing shock.

Of course, she was only shocked—enough to feel some awe toward the Master.

However.

She couldn’t approve of Bai Yaoyin’s heartfelt affection.

Bai Yaosha couldn’t help but muse to herself.

Could it be Father sent her to the Great Yan Imperial Capital to find her little sister precisely for this reason? Could her purpose here be to prevent her sister from going astray?!

For a moment, Bai Yaosha suddenly felt the pressure on her grow immensely.

Late at night, the sisters chatted for a long time; Bai Yaosha, exhausted from her journey, couldn’t help but grow weary.

”Little sister, shall we bathe together?”

Bai Yaosha walked to the bathing tub the maids had prepared, extending the invitation.

However, to her surprise, the little sister who’d always bathed with her since childhood, never shying away, actually refused.

Seeing Bai Yaoyin’s shy demeanor, Bai Yaosha suddenly felt as if the bond between sisters... had faded!

Four years apart, how had her sister become so distant and unfamiliar?

”Sister, I’ll join you in a bit...”

Bai Yaoyin felt guilty, not daring to meet her sister’s gaze.

She wasn’t refusing on purpose—it’s just, certain traces on her body made her uneasy. If her sister saw, she’d never be able to explain them away.

...

Fallen God Abyss.

Under the Great Yan Empress’s full speed, in just a few days, the two appeared in the empty skies above this desolate plain.

Looking down at the abyss below—a dark, earth-scarred chasm bottomless and black—Qin Yu couldn’t help but feel a vague sense of unease rise in his heart.

It was as if, in the depths of that pitch-black abyss, a pair of evil eyes were staring at him, unblinking.

The Empress’s speed did not slow at all. She brought forth a streak of golden light, stopping above the Abyss.

The shrill howls from all around, upon reaching a hundred feet of her, seemed to be wiped away by some mysterious force—vanishing entirely, leaving the two undisturbed.

The golden radiance gradually faded, and the Empress’s figure appeared. She stood calmly in midair, exuding an indescribable aura of majesty.

Beneath the Empress’s presence, that terrifying abyss seemed like a black dragon subdued, bowing low before her.

”Hmph!”

The Empress sensed something, her Dai Mei brows gently knitting, those deep star-like eyes revealing the Emperor’s unique aloofness, as if able to pierce all things.

Qin Yu stood silently behind the Empress, not saying a word.

Even with the Empress sheltering him, after stepping into this land he could still clearly feel an indescribably heavy pressure.

Without the Empress’s powerful protection, Qin Yu suspected he might not be able to withstand that suffocating terror at all—let alone approach the edge of the Abyss.

”Wom—”

The Empress moved with composure, making no unnecessary gestures. She merely raised her jade-like palm and pointed distantly toward the pitch-black abyss below.

As she did, sparkling radiance flowed upon her slender, snow-white arm, like a cascade of stars.

”Break!”

The Empress’s chilly voice rang out; her jade palm swept smoothly through the air. The motion was gentle, yet it seemed to contain the principle of Heaven and Earth—a formless power of Dao Rhyme surged forth, instantly forming into a gigantic hand that blotted out the sky, ruthlessly grabbing at the Abyss below.

”Boom!”

Wherever that giant hand passed, even space itself shuddered, unable to withstand its might. The hand seemed poised to rip apart the pitch-black chasm below by force.

In merely a flash, the mighty hand crashed down upon the darkness; black Qi scattered, revealing the appalling abyss beneath.

Only now did Qin Yu finally see Fallen God Abyss in its entirety.

The abyss resembled a colossal centipede sprawled across the earth, winding and twisting, radiating an aura of ill omen that stretched to the limits of sight.

Even more alarming, not even the Empress’s earth-shaking blow could fully tear away the black mist above the chasm.

Qin Yu narrowed his gaze, finally noticing that in the bottomless depths of the Abyss, black and red Qi interwove and tumbled, surging like boiling magma—constantly rising, carrying an indescribable evil and horror.

”What level of Malice Spirit is this? How could it be so terrifying?!”

Qin Yu’s expression was gravely solemn. He keenly sensed that the entwined black and red Qi in the Abyss contained a force of evil beyond imagination, enough to instill dread in the soul.

Compared to the malice in the Ancient Array, these energies were even more wicked—as if they shouldn’t exist in this world at all.

The power of the Empress’s last blow had dispersed much of the black Qi, but it was only dispersal—not true purification.

Moreover, as the black and red Qi surged in the Abyss, it wouldn’t be long before the scene below returned to what it was before.

The Empress furrowed her brows, gaze sharp as a blade, the depth of her eyes flickering with divine light. Her gaze seemed to pierce the endless black and red, reaching the very bottom of the Abyss and taking in all that lay below.

”Could it be...”

The Empress seemed to see something amiss; a rare hint of concern surfaced on her majestic face.

”Try to see if you can purify the malice below.”

The Empress did not continue to act, but instead gestured toward Qin Yu.

Qin Yu nodded. If this interwoven black-red evil Qi truly counted as malice, there should be no problem.

With a wave of his hand, a stream of True Essence howled forth, plunging straight into the seemingly endless Abyss below.

”Sss!”

In the sea of black and red Qi below, a wisp of green smoke curled upward.

[Purifying Malice +100]

[Purifying Malice +100]

[...]

”As long as it’s malice, that’s good!”

Qin Yu glanced at the flame, joy rising in his heart.

Though the malice just purified was but a drop in the ocean compared to the bottomless Abyss, he felt no fear at all.

A sea of black mist?

For him, that’s a windfall!

After all, in his eyes, these were all cold hard Flame Points!

Seeing this, the Empress also breathed a sigh of relief. It seems bringing Qin Yu along was indeed the wise choice this time.

As for the Empress Dowager, while her auspicious Bright Moon Pearl did disperse malice, it couldn’t truly purify it.

Bringing her would be of little help.

She might even cause more trouble.

”Boom! Boom!...”

Qin Yu kept sending stream after stream of True Essence; watching the Flame Points shooting up, he was overjoyed.

However, this harvest didn’t last long.

In less than half an hour, it was as if some ancient and evil force was awakened in the Abyss below—the black and red gases surged violently, shaking the plain so fiercely that it seemed some unspeakable terror was waking beneath the chasm.

”Crack!”

Qin Yu’s eyes widened in disbelief, as the unending black and red Qi condensed in the blink of an eye, forming a colossal spear dozens of feet long.

”Whoosh—”

The instant the spear tore through the air, it brought an unspeakably evil power and oppressive might, shooting straight at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu’s pupils shrank. An unprecedented surging sense of crisis chilled his spine to the crown, making his hair stand on end. But, with the Empress beside him, he had no thought of backing away.

”Hmph!”

As expected, before the spear even arrived, the Empress gave a cold snort—terrifying Dao Rhyme power filling the air.

”Bang!”

The spear’s tip suddenly exploded before drawing near, and then the entire shaft splintered in pieces, not even getting within thirty feet of them.

Qin Yu was utterly ruthless, deftly channeling his True Essence to refine the entire surge of black-red Qi on the spot.

”As expected, it’s awakened.”

The Empress gave a cold snort, frosty intent in her gaze enough to freeze all things.

”Crack!”

Failing in its strike, the black and red Qi below surged frantically, the black mist that once shrouded the Abyss quickly withdrawing away, as if afraid of being purified further.

Seeing this, Qin Yu didn’t dare hold back, the True Essence of a Golden Core Peak cultivator roaring out, striving to harvest as many Flame Points as possible at the last moment.

Such a scene left the Empress a bit perplexed.

This fellow—how did he get so addicted?

But still...

If only he could break through to the Lotus Platform Realm. That would save so much more time.

”Wait here for me.”

With the black-red Qi withdrawn, the Empress moved. A flash of her smooth leg slipped under the dragon robe; then her figure, gleaming with golden light, plunged toward the depths of the chasm.

As she was about to be consumed by Abyss darkness, a dragon-shaped hairpin in her hair released a glint, enveloping her figure.

The moment her figure vanished into the Abyss, a dreadful sense of danger surged in Qin Yu’s heart. Without hesitation, he entered his Lifebound Space in an instant.

No way—this place is hell itself!

That black spear from earlier? Its power probably couldn’t even be stopped by Yan Yu, and he didn’t intend to use himself as a test subject.

The Pure Yang Divine Body is strong, but there’s no need to torment oneself needlessly.

Better to honestly wait here for the Empress’s return.

As soon as Qin Yu appeared, Little Ling’Er came running over quickly.

To keep his wives from worrying or being frightened, Qin Yu hadn’t let them see the horror of Fallen God Abyss, though they all knew he was out with the Empress, so they were somewhat concerned.

Qin Yu soothed them quietly, not explaining too much. While restoring his True Essence, he quietly attuned his senses to the outside, lest the Empress returned and he failed to notice.